DECLARANT DEFINED

The "Declarant" is the person or entity that creates the original governing documents for the association. The Declarant is generally the developer of the project and usually reserves certain rights and powers to himself related to the sale of units in the project, extra voting rights, etc. The Davis-Stirling Act defines the Declarant as follows:

“Declarant” means the person or group of persons designated in the
declaration as declarant, or if no declarant is designated, the person
or group of persons who sign the original declaration or who succeed to
special rights, preferences, or privileges designated in the
declaration as belonging to the signator of the original declaration. (Civ. Code §4130.)

Most associations eventually restate their CC&Rs to eliminate all references to the Declarant, eliminate all legalese, and add pertinent provisions from the Davis-Stirling Act. See "Removing Declarant Provisions."